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TOP Contents - Tailored for YOU Latest News Headlines

Thailand to launch new rice bond next week Global food prices steady in December, down in 2013: FAO Pheu Thai firm on infrastructure investment, rice subsidy policies Commerce Ministry confirms it has enough fund for rice mortgage scheme TABLE-India Grain Prices-Delhi-Jan 09 India's rice exports to Iran increase 77 percent US Faults FGs Claim of Self-Sufficiency in Rice Production by 2015

NEWS DETAILS:
Thailand to launch new rice bond next week
January 9, 2014 6:17pm

BANGKOK Thailand's state-backed farm bank will start book building for a 20 billion baht ($604.96 million) bond next week to help meet payments to rice farmers, but with terms unchanged from a similar issue in November, appetite may be limited.The government needs the money to pay farmers under a scheme where it buys rice at above market prices, a subsidy that boosted its popularity and helped it win a landslide in 2011 elections.But the government has struggled to sell the rice, making it difficult to fund the scheme. Farmers who have not been paid since the subsidy was renewed in October have threatened to join anti-government protests. Farmers blocked a highway in the northern province of Phichit on Tuesday to protest at late payments under the scheme. Some in neighboring Phitsanulok have also protested.The marketing of the bond from Jan. 16 to Jan. 23 coincides with protesters' plans to shut down Bangkok as part of an attempt to oust Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, adding to political uncertainty that is likely to put off investors.A source at an arranging bank for the bond said the terms would be unchanged from November when the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, which funds the scheme, raised only half the 75 billion Thai baht ($2.27 billion) it wanted.

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"We bought some last time. But we are not so keen this time unless the price is good," said Chajchai Saritapirak, first senior vice president at Kasikorn Asset Management.Around 1 million tons of rice-selling certificates that the government issued to farmers since October are still unpaid, a senior official at BAAC said."Those unpaid certificates are worth around 100 billion baht and the BAAC needs to pay to farmers within January," BAAC executive vice-president Supat Eauchai told Reuters. Reuters

Global food prices steady in December, down in 2013: FAO

ROME Thu Jan 9, 2014 5:50am EST
CREDIT: REUTERS/AMIT DAVE

Labourers sift harvested wheat in a field on the outskirts of the western Indian city of Ahmedabad March 14, 2013. (Reuters) - Global food prices rose slightly in December after staying flat the month before, but prices on average declined 1.6 percent in 2013 versus the previous year, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday.The Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) price index, which measures monthly price changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar, averaged 206.7 points in December, a marginal rise from a revised 206.4 in November.FAO said large supplies pushed down international prices of oils, sugar, and cereals except for rice.But the decrease in prices in those markets was balanced by an opposite trend in meat and dairy, which hit records in 2013 according to FAO.FAO senior economist Abdolreza Abbassian told Reuters by telephone that he saw ample supply and good opportunities for rebuilding inventories as likely to continue to weigh on cereals prices for the next few months."This situation is likely to keep some downward pressure on the grain sector for still some months to come," Abbassian said.Demand-driven increases in higher meat and dairy prices could taper, however. "Considering how high they are... perhaps the scope for stronger increases in the next few months are much less than in the last few months," Abbassian said.Record harvests drove down cereals prices particularly in wheat and maize over 2013, and the average cereals price index for December was 191.5 points, its lowest since August 2010.Meanwhile, the dairy price index averaged 243 in 2013, its highest annual average ever, FAO said. Demand from Japan and China drove up beef in particular, and the meat index was at historically high levels in 2013, FAO said.

(Reporting by Naomi O'Leary; editing by Keiron Henderson)

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Pheu Thai firm on infrastructure investment, rice subsidy policies

Thursday, 09 January 2014By MCOT

BANGKOK, Jan 8 Thailand's Pheu Thai Party will press ahead with its policy for massive infrastructure investment if it holds the majority after the general election, its executive announced today.Pichai Nariptaphan, a leading member of the Pheu Thais economic team, said the infrastructure development -- particularly on the transport system -- will alleviate energy consumption and the costs of logistics.The Pheu Thai-sponsored legislation on Bt2 trillion for the mammoth scheme is pending the Constitution Courts ruling on its legality.If the bill is rejected by the court, Pheu Thai will propose annual budget allocations for similar investment on, for instance, dual track railways, 10 rail routes and road expansion projects, he said.Mr Pichai said infrastructure development is vital to Thailand in light of the launch of the ASEAN Economic Community next year which compels the kingdom to focus on improvement of human resources and fundamental facilities.On the highly-criticised rice pledging scheme, he said, the party will improve the information technology system to control and manage rice stocks and disbursement, insisting that the rice subsidy project is one of the Pheu Thais significant policies though it needs some adjustment. He categorically rejected allegations of populism as creating a debt burden to the country, saying Thailands public debt against gross domestic product during the Pheu Thai government was at 45 per cent.It was less than 50 per cent which could be implied that the Yingluck governments projects would never plunge the country to bankruptcy, he said.Mr Pichai said the months-long political rallies have cost Thailand Bt140 billion in tourism revenue after losing three million foreign visitors.The hotel occupancy rate during the annual mid-winter high season was only 40 per cent, he added.

Commerce Ministry confirms it has enough fund for rice mortgage scheme
Date : 9 2557 BANGKOK, 9 Jan 2014 (NNT) - The Commerce Ministry has reaffirmed that it has enough fund for the rice pledging scheme, expecting to make the payments to all participating farmers in the 2013/2014 season by January 25th. The Ministry is expecting the farmers to pledge 10 million tons of rice in the current production season. Commerce Minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan stated that the amount would need 140 billion

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baht in compensation, adding that the ministry already paid 30 billion baht to the farmers, leaving 77 billion baht in payment pending. He expected that the payments would be completed within January 25th. Nonetheless the scheme still lacks 40 billion baht, and the Commerce Ministry will urgently ask the Election Commission (EC) to approve its planned borrowing of 130 billion baht to finance the scheme. He said that even if the EC does not give the nod on the matter, the Commerce Ministry is still able to use the money obtained from selling the pledged rice to be returned to the farmers. Meanwhile, the EC has approved the ministrys request to sell the pledged rice in stock by any means it deems appropriate. The Commerce Ministry, thus, has plans to clear the stock through both auctioning and Government-to-Government deals. It expects to sell another 500,000 tons of rice in the new release.

TABLE-India Grain Prices-Delhi-Jan 09

Thu Jan 9, 2014 2:59pm IST TABLE-India Grain Prices - Delhi - Jan 09 Rates by Asian News International, New Delhi Tel: 011 2619 1464 Indicative Previous Grains opening close (in rupees per 100 kg unless stated) ---------------------------------------------------------Wheat Desi 2,000-3,000 2,000-3,000. Wheat Dara 1,750-1,850 1,725-1,825. Atta Chakki (per 10 Kg) 215-240 215-240. Roller Mill (per bag) 1,750-1,900 1,750-1,900. Maida (per bag) 1,950-2,050 1,950-2,050. Sooji (per bag) 1,900-2,000 1,900-2,000. Rice Basmati(Sri Lal Mahal) 12,000-14,500 12,000-14,500 Rice Basmati(Lal Quila) 12,000-14,400 12,000-14,400 Rice Basmati(Common) 8,500-9,500 8,400-9,400. Rice Permal 2,100-2,400 2,100-2,400. Rice Sela 2,900-3,100 2,850-3,000. I.R.-8 1,850-2,000 1,850-2,000. Gram 3,100-3,200 3,100-3,200.

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Peas Green Peas White Bajra Jowar white Maize Barley Guwar

3,250-3,800 2,850-3,050 1,300-1,650 1,500-2,200 1,400-1,600 1,350-1,425 3,300-3,900

3,300-3,700. 2,800-3,000. 1,300-1,650. 1,500-2,200. 1,400-1,600. 1,350-1,425. 3,300-3,900.

Source: Delhi grain market traders.

India's rice exports to Iran increase 77 percent

MENAFN - 09/01/2014 (MENAFN) India has exported 851.000 tons of rice to Iran, its biggest rice importer, according to Iran Daily.Figures showed that India's rice exports to Iran have boosted by 77 percent in the first six months of the current Iranian year.Indian trade sources expect the country to export 4 million tons of rice in the current Indian fiscal year (April 2013-March 2014).

US Faults FGs Claim of Self-Sufficiency in Rice Production by 2015

09 Jan 2014 By Crusoe Osagie Data from the United States Government obtained by THISDAY yesterday have punctured the claims by the federal government that Nigeria would achieve self-sufficiency in rice production in the year 2015.Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, had last year announced that going by the massive increase in rice production across the country occasioned by the implementation of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) and the Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES) of the federal government, indigenous rice producers will be able to produce all

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the rice needed in the country by 2015, thereby setting the stage for a ban on the importation of the commodity by next year. But a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) report yesterday showed that rice farmers and millers in Nigeria believe the decision to ban rice imports completely in 2015 could be counter-productive and require a review to protect the interests of the local rice industry.According to the USDA, Nigerias rice imports in 2013 14 are estimated to reach around 3 million tonnes, about 3.4 percent higher than about 2.9 million tonnes of rice imports beyween 2012-2013. This is mainly because the projected increase in rice production in 2013-14 falls short of consumption requirement. The USDA noted that Nigerias rice production in 2013-14 is expected to reach around 2.7 million tonnes, up by about 12.5 percent from previous year's production of about 2.4 milln tonnes.However, the report noted that rice consumption in Nigeria is projected to increase to around 6 million tonnes in 2013-14, up about 11 percent from around 5.4 million tonnes in the previous year.Responding to the USDA report, Special Adviser to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Olukayode Oyeleye, warned that whatever information comes from the US with respect to rice should be taken with a pinch of salt, considering the fact that the US is one of the biggest exporters of rice to Nigeria and the policy banning rice importation by 2015 will therefore impact on them negatively."There is the likelihood of a political undertone to what is coming from the US in Nigeria's quest for self-sufficiency in rice production and consumption. It is the same thing we expect to happen with our policy that targets reduced wheat importation," Oyeleye said. He added that the ATA and GES were poised to end the nation's dependence on other countries of the world for food and rice is no exception, stressing that under the schemes, government targets the production of over 3million tonnes of rice and coupled with outputs from other rice farmers who are not in the scheme, the country would not be needing rice from abroad in 2015.A statement from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) recently noted that due to increased rice output in Nigeria and Ghana, global rice production was forecast to outpace consumption in 2012/13, resulting in an upward revision of 5 million tonnes in 2013 closing inventories."World rice carryover stocks are expected to rise by seven per cent, or 10 million tonnes, to a new high of almost 170 tonnes, marking the eighth consecutive year of stock accumulation," FAO stated. "As a result, the world rice stock-to-use ratio was forecast to rise to 35.5 percent in 2013. "The federal government hiked rice import tariffs sharply in the beginning of 2013 and is planning to ban rice importation completely by 2015.Government officials also disclosed that the move will help boost local production and save billions of dollars for the economy. However, high tariffs have led to a surge in smuggling

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of rice in to the country.According to the Nigerian Customs Service, rice worth about N27 billion (around $170 million) entered the country illegally during the first five months of 2013 alone.Smuggled rice is seen as a major threat to the development of Nigerias rice sector. According to local sources, while a bag of smuggled rice costs N6,500 (around $41), locally produced processed rice costs around N11,500 (around $72). Some Nigerian farmers have raised concerns over the increase in smuggling of rice, which they say is due to the government decision to hike rice import tariffs.However, commodities market watchers say a complete rice ban in 2015 will be unfeasible as local production cannot meet consumption demand.According to the watchers, about 40 per cent of rice consumption in Nigeria is met by rice imports from India, Thailand and China, despite high tariffs. Farmers equally argued that the government efforts such as agriculture loans should be directed to reach more farmers directly to help increase production. Members of the Nigerian Rice Millers and Traders Association NRMTA have also expressed concern that the government's efforts to improve local rice production are not seen in all production stages.Millers claimed that while rice area in the country had increased by about 25 per cent from two million hectares in 2012-13 to 2.5 million hectares in 2013-14, significant changes in processing and milling are lacking.

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